Advertisements

Preparation

Purée 3/4 cup basil leaves and 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil in a blender until smooth and only tiny flecks of basil remain. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Strain mixture into bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much oil as possible; discard solids in strainer. Add shallot, chile, lemon zest, and lemon juice to basil oil; whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Return to room temperature and rewhisk before using.

Recent Reviews

This was delicious! I was skeptical about the red chile but had a pablano chile and it gave it great kick.
Nice twist on a old favorite. Great ideas from other
reviews as well.

sanny1 from Boston /

Flag if Inappropriate

This was so yummy and easy to make....followed the directions except as other reviewers mentioned, left the grilled bread separate so each guest could mix it in on their own as desired. It was such a hit with our fathers day crowd. will definately make again and again

A Cook from Malvern PA /

Flag if Inappropriate

Such a great summer recipe! I used all sorts of different heirloom tomatoes (purpley, greenish, red, yellow, orange) and it was a beautiful dish. I don't have a grill, so I broiled the bread with olive oil but added one little thing...Instead of discarding the basil after making the oil, I spread it onto the bread before I broiled it. Delicious!
Also, I tore the bread up and put it in the bottom of each bowl, ladled the tomato mixture on top, then tossed it. When cooking for two, I like to make the whole recipe and use leftovers, so this way I still have the rest of the tomato mixture (sans soggy bread) to eat again later.

alicefs from nashville, tn /

Flag if Inappropriate

This was delicious! I accidentally used all of my 1ish cup of basil leaves to make the basil oil so I didn't have basil to add into the salad later but I don't think it mattered. I didn't end up adding the chile, but I don't think it was necessary. I also used a little extra oil and lemon juice than called for to stretch the dressing. For the tomatoes, I used 3 pounds of heirloom tomatoes. I used most of a 16 oz sour batard loaf and broiled slices drizzled with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil. There was a lot of liquid in the salad because of the dressing and juice from the tomatoes so we added the bread pieces after serving to prevent them from getting too mushy. I will definitely be making this again sometime soon!

A Cook from berkeley, ca /

Flag if Inappropriate

YUM! The basil dressing beautifully enhances the summer tomatoes without stealing the spotlight. I love pouring the marinated tomatoes and dressing over pasta for a simple no-cook sauce. I top the pasta with torn pieces of grilled bread, which absorb the dressing and add texture to the pasta. Great for summer dinners!